As staggering as the numbers are, the real impact of Moses’ level of achievement can only be fully understood when analyzing the degree to which he revolutionized the event. Prior to Moses, very few hurdlers had even tried to take thirteen strides between the hurdles all the way around the track, and an even fewer number had done so successfully. But Moses did it so well, and had so much success with it, that it has become the norm for the elite athlete, and the goal for all who aspire to elite status. Even though there are varying philosophies and strategies regarding how many strides to take between the hurdles, all conversations on this topic will at one point or another include an analysis of Moses’ approach. Another aspect of Moses’ greatness was his superb hurdling technique. Most intermediate hurdlers have solid technique, but it isn’t usually their primary strength. With Moses, however, his excellent technique served as a good part of the reason that he was able to run so efficiently. With a personal best of 13.60 in the 110s, Moses had the technique to carry him through the late stages of a race, allowing him to run through hurdles without losing balance or stumbling for a stride or two after landing off of a hurdle. Obviously, too, if he could run 13.60 in the 110s and a 45.0 in the open 400, he had more foot speed than he is usually given credit for. Like Renaldo Nehemiah in the 110s, Moses set the standards that all intermediate hurdlers judge themselves by to this day. He remained at the top of the heap for thirteen years in an event where the usual lifespan at the elite level is closer to five years. So when you put it all together – longevity, technique, major victories, fast times, and competitive edge, Edwin Moses clearly stands as the greatest intermediate hurdler ever.

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#2: Felix Sanchez
Although Sanchez is still competing, he has already done enough in the past five years to merit being ranked ahead of all intermediate hurdlers except for the great Edwin Moses himself. After a disappointing 2000 in which he won the NCAAs but did little else of note for the rest of the year, Sanchez has gone on to dominate the event on a level comparable to Moses’ dominance in the late seventies and early eighties. Sanchez has been ranked #1 in the world every year since 2001 – that’s four years running and counting. In that time, he has won two World Championship gold medals and an Olympic gold medal, and has amassed a consecutive victory streak of forty races and counting. It could be argued that Sanchez’ dominance is even more awe-inspiring than that of Moses when viewed in light of the fact that, in Moses’ early years of brilliance – before the likes of Andre Phillips and Danny Harris arrived on the scene – Harald Schmid of West Germany was the only other intermediate hurdler who could run under 48 seconds, whereas in modern times there are numerous hurdlers running in that range. Sanchez’ personal best at this point is 47.25, which he ran at the 2003 Worlds, and he has run under 47.40 three times. Like Moses, Sanchez is an excellent technician. Though I don’t know if he has ever run the 110m hurdles, he exhibits the tight arm motion, quick lead-leg snapdown, and quick trail-leg thrust of a high hurdler. His technical efficiency obviously enables him to distribute energy throughout the course of the 400 meters, as he hardly ever seems to suffer from late-race breakdowns in running or hurdling form. It seems apparent that if Sanchez is able to remain healthy for another four to six years and continue the dominance he has achieved in the early part of this decade, he will rank on a level parallel to that of Moses, regardless of whether or not he ever breaks the world record.

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#3: Harald Schmid
I must admit that I don’t really remember ever seeing Schmid race, because whenever I did watch races in which he ran, I was too busy cheering for the Americans he was running against to take note of Schmid. But yes, he was right there in the thick of things in a lot of those races, including the race that is widely considered to be the greatest intermediate hurdle race ever run – the finals of the 1987 World Championships in Rome. In that race, Schmid matched his personal best of 47.48 but lost to Moses by .02, and to Danny Harris, who was given the exact same time as Schmid. This race marked Schmid’s last legitimate attempt to defeat Moses since last defeating him in August of 1977. So, the 1987 World Championship race was especially exciting because Moses was going against the last rival to defeat him before the start of his consecutive-race streak (Schmid), and also against the rival who ended that streak (Harris). Ironically, the same three hurdlers finished in the same order three years earlier, at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Moses was the only one of the three to break 48, as Harris and Schmid finished in 48.13 and 48.19, respectively. Like Moses, Schmid had an extraordinarily long career for an intermediate hurdler, as he was ranked among the top ten in the world every year from 1977 all the way through to 1989. In most of those years, his greatness was hugely overshadowed by the greatness of the phenomenal Moses. For three years in a row – 1978-1980 – Schmid was ranked second to Moses, and the only year that Schmid did rank first in the world (1982) was one of the years in which Moses sat out. Nevertheless, it should also be noted that for eleven consecutive years – 1977-1987, Schmid was never ranked lower than fourth, which is one of the most remarkable strings of success and consistency as there is to be found in the history of the sport of Track & Field. It is this consistency and longevity that, in my estimation, makes his career stand out as being especially notable.

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#4: Andre Phillips
Another of the many hurdlers who spent virtually his whole career chasing after Edwin Moses, Phillips finally got the better of his legendary rival in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. This race must also be included as one of the greatest intermediate hurdle races of all time, as Phillips did what he knew he would have to do, which was to run the race of his life in order to defeat the iron-willed, supremely confident Moses. Phillips set his personal record of 47.19 in that race. Amadou Ba of Senegal also surpassed Moses and almost caught Phillips at the finish line, coming across in 47.23, as Moses grabbed the bronze in 47.56. Phillips’ victory in this race was particularly significant as it marked the first time ever that anyone had gotten the best of Moses in a World Championship or Olympic final. Many people, including myself, were convinced that it couldn’t be done. Phillips proved us all wrong, running a masterful technical race and showing the heart of a champion at the end. Arguably the best double hurdler in history, Phillips almost qualified for the Olympic Games in both hurdle races in 1988. If I recall correctly, his 13.25 in the 110s earned him a fourth place at the Olympic trials that year. The incredibly versatile Phillips also had a pr of 44.71 in the open 400. In regards to world rankings, Phillips was among the top ten in every year from 1980 through 1986, then, after sitting out 1987 with an injury, he was among the top again in ’88 and ’89. He was ranked first in the world three times – in 1985, 1986, and 1988; and he was ranked second in the world four times – in 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1989. Like Schmid, Phillips had a wildly successful career that went pretty much ignored because of the overwhelming dominance of Moses. If not for his Olympic victory in 1988, Phillips would probably go down in history as one of the greatest hurdlers that nobody ever heard of. As it stands, he is one of the greatest intermediate hurdlers ever, period.

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#5: Danny Harris
Known primarily as the man who ended Edwin Moses’ consecutive victory streak at 107, Harris was a great 400m hurdler in his own right who accomplished a great deal in the event. In the 1984 Olympic Games, before he had even turned nineteen years old, Harris set the world on fire with his second place finish in 48.13. Being one year younger than Harris, and having just graduated from high school, I remember being in awe of the fact that someone only one year older than me was already running in the Olympics, and was doing that well, running against Edwin Moses. The burgeoning of Harris, Phillips, and the already constant threat of Schmid served to make Moses’ reign at the top of the intermediate heap a tenuous one. The NCAA champ for three consecutive years (1984-1986), Harris was gradually building up a name for himself, becoming the “new kid on the block” in the event, and a potential heir apparent to Moses’ throne. His victory over Moses in Madrid, Spain in June of 1987 marked the moment when the rest of the world had finally caught up to Moses. No longer could he win races with his intimidating presence and superior technical skill; now the Grand Master himself would have to bring his A-game to every meet if he hoped to stay at number one. That’s why Moses’ 1987 World Championships gold medal race was so impressive – because he had to dig so deep, as, for the first time in his career, he wasn’t expected to win. In that race, Harris and Schmid forced Moses to dig deeper than he ever had before in order to emerge victorious, and, being the champion that he is, he did so. That race also proved to be a peak in Harris’ career, as he never placed in the top three in an Olympic or World Championship final again. In a blazing Olympic Trials final in 1988, he only finished fifth although he ran a very fast 47.76. Throughout the rest of his career, he struggled off-and-on with personal, off-the-track problems. In 1990, he had a very strong year, breaking 48.00 a record eight times, and finishing the year ranked #1 in the world. In 1991, he set his personal record of 47.38, but only finished fifth at the World Championships. Harris’ last really strong year was 1995; although he didn’t qualify for the World Championships that year, he ran some fast times on the European circuit, and beat World Champion Derrick Adkins three times. Harris was ranked among the top ten in the world every year from 1984 through 1991, then again in 1994 and 1995. Although he lacks an Olympic or World Championship gold medal and didn’t have as consistent a career as Moses and Schmid, Danny Harris has etched his name in stone as one of the greatest intermediate hurdlers of all time.

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#6: Kevin Young
When speaking of Young’s career, the focal point is 1992. That year alone was incredible enough to make him one of the best hurdlers ever, even if he had done nothing worthy of note before or after. In that magical year, he broke Edwin Moses world record; the 46.78 he ran at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain still stands as the world record and the only race ever run under 47.00. In that same year, he ran eight sub-48s, matching the number of Danny Harris two years earlier, and he won seventeen consecutive races, remaining undefeated throughout the entire year. Earlier in his career, Young pretty much followed in the footsteps of Harris. After finishing second to Harris in the NCAAs in 1986, he went on to win the NCAAs in ’87 and ’88. At UCLA, Young was one of several superstar athletes coached by John Smith, including quarter-milers Steve Lewis and Danny Everett, who finished first and third, respectively, in the 1988 Olympic Games. In that same year, Young finished third in the Olympic Trials and fourth in the Olympic Games. Other than the Olympic victory in 1992, the other major highlight of Young’s career was the 47.18 he ran to win the World Championships in 1993. That proved to be his last year of greatness in the intermediates, as the best he could muster afterward was a fifth place finish in a semi-final heat at the 1996 Olympic Trials, and a tenth-place ranking among U.S. hurdlers that same year. So, although Young didn’t have a lot of great years in comparison to some of the other hurdlers, he did rank first in the world three times (1989, 1992, and 1993), and, at his best, there were none better.

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#7: Samuel Matete
Matete had a 1991 that was nearly as jaw-dropping as Kevin Young’s 1992. In ’91, Matete set his personal record of 47.10, which, except for Young’s 46.78 the following year, still stands as the fastest time ever run by an intermediate hurdler whose last name isn’t Moses. Matete also won the gold medal that year in the World Championships, running a 47.64 in the finals. Finally, like Young in ’92, Matete went undefeated throughout the year, winning all twenty races in which he entered. After Young’s career began to decline, Matete and Derrick Adkins slugged it out for hurdle supremacy from ’94 to ‘96, as the two of them basically split down the middle in head-to-head meetings, with Adkins winning eighteen of their meetings and Matete emerging the victor seventeen times. In the “big” races – the ’95 Worlds and ’96 Olympics – Adkins came out on top, but all of their races were great races, and the fact that both of them were such good sports in spite of the intensity of the rivalry made their battles that much more fun to watch. Although Adkins did get the better of Matete more often than vice versa, I still rank Matete slightly higher than Adkins because of the fact that his career lasted longer, as he was a major player in the game before Adkins even arrived on the international scene, and continued to make an impact on the world scene after Adkins had begun to fall off. Matete was ranked #1 in the world two times – in 1991 and 1994, and was ranked #2 in the world three times – 1993, 1995, and 1996. In a career that spanned pretty much the entire decade of the nineties, Matete established himself as a world-class hurdler with very few peers.

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#8: Derrick Adkins
Adkins was the best hurdler in the world in the middle years of the 1990s, his best years coming in 1995 and 1996, as he ranked first in the world both of those years, won a World Championship gold medal, an Olympic gold medal, and developed an intense rivalry with Samuel Matete of Zambia. Adkins tied his personal record of 47.54 in the ’96 Olympic Games, having run the same time in a European meet in 1995. Adkins first appeared in the world rankings in 1991, when he ranked seventh in the world. He remained among the top ten in the world through 1997, when he ranked eighth. His gold medal race in Atlanta proved to be the highlight of his career, as he struggled with injury and illness throughout the rest of his career. His accomplishments from 1994-1996, however, are strong enough to make him one of the greatest ever in the event.

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#9: Stephane Diagana
Diagana, of France, was one of the best intermediate hurdlers throughout the decade of the 1990’s and into the new millenium, as he finished among the top five in the world nine times from 1992 to 2002, including a number-one ranking in 1998. Unfortunately, because of injuries, as well as the fact that he was competing against the likes of Young, Matete, and Adkins, he never won an Olympic gold medal, but he did win the World Championships in 1997 with a 47.70. In addition, he finished third at the 1995 World Championships, and second at the 1999 Worlds. He ran his pr of 47.37 in 1995 in a meet in Lausanne, France, defeating Adkins, who also ran his pr of 47.54 in the same race. Only eight intermediate hurdlers have ever run under 47.40, and Diagana is one of them. Like Colin Jackson in the 110s, Diagana suffered from major injuries throughout his career, which caused him to lose a few of his prime years. However, again like Jackson, Diagana would always come back strong the following year. Because of his longevity, consistency, resilience, and excellent performances in World Championship races, Diagana deserves to be considered one of the best intermediate hurdlers of all time.

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#10: Amadou Ba
It must be disappointing to run a 47.23 in the intermediate hurdles and not come in first place, but the only person who can say so for sure is Amadou Ba of Senegal, who finished second in the 1988 Olympics behind Andre Phillips’ 47.19 in one of the greatest hurdle races ever run. Ba’s late charge pushed him past the great Edwin Moses, who won the bronze, but it wasn’t enough to catch Phillips, who held on for the gold. Only four hurdlers have ever run faster than Ba ran on that day. Even Felix Sanchez, who already has a Moses-like aura of invincibility with an Olympic gold medal to go with two World Championship gold medals, has yet to run faster than Ba ran in the race of his life in that ’88 Olympic final. In addition, Ba was ranked among the top ten in the world six consecutive years – from 1983 to 1988. Though he never ranked higher than fourth, the people ranked ahead of him were giants like Moses, Phillips, Schmid, and Harris. To me, the mid-‘80’s to the mid-‘90’s was the strongest era of intermediate hurdling there has ever been, because there were so many guys who were just so incredibly talented competing against each other meet after meet. So, to be consistently ranked fourth or fifth in the world behind the likes of the aforementioned hurdlers is still quite an accomplishment, and I think it would be fair to say that the impact of Ba’s very good career was overshadowed by the astonishing greatness of the athletes he competed against.

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Other notables, in no set order, would include:Winthrop Graham, John Akii-Bua, Angelo Taylor, Ralph Mann, James Carter, Eric Thomas, Joey Woody, David Patrick, Bryan Bronson, Glenn Davis, Rex Cawley, Dave Hemery, Fabrizio Mori, Kriss Akabubusi. If there's a 400 hurdler whose name I didn't mention whom you feel should be mentioned, shoot me an email by clicking on the "Contact Me" link on the main page.

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© 2005 Steve McGill